Tear strip remover



Dec. 29, 1959 F. F. BERRY 2,919,049

- TEAR STRIP REMOVER Filed May 27 1959 INVENTOR. FREDERICK E BERRY United States Patent TEAR' STRIP REMOVER I Frederick E Berry, Plymouth, N.H. Application' May 27,1959, Serial No. 816,277

1 Claim.-- (Cl. 2'2052)' This invention relates to a tool in the form of a key for tearing ofl a permanent cover from a can and the like and for'lifting a removable cover from a bottle can or the like.

Bottles and jars and some cans are provided with covers that are adapted to be raised off, and other cans are provided with permanent covers that must be torn off of the can. The latter cans have a circumferential tear strip formed by weakened lines and terminating in a tab extending exteriorly of the can and in intimate contact with the outer surface of the can.

With conventional can opener keys, it has been found difficult to start the operation of tearing off the strip on the cans having the permanent covers owing to the fact that the tab is pressed fiat against the surface of the can so that it is difficult to manipulate the tab. It is usually necessary for the user to use a finger nail or a separate sharp tool in order to get under the tab to free the tab from the surface so that the key might be interlocked therewith.

Furthermore, it has been found that as the tear strip is wound on the key considerable force is needed to wind the tear strip in a coil on the key, this force frequently causing the tear strip coils to slide off one another and gash the hand of the user with the very sharp and jagged edges of the strip.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a key that can selectively be used for removing the cover of a bottle, can and the like or for tearing the permanent cover off of a can and the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a key of this kind with means for separating the tear strip tab from the surface of the can so that the key can be interlocked therewith for twisting.

A further object of the invention is to provide a key of this kind with means to facilitate initial coiling of the tab of the tear strip and for subsequently effectively tearing the tear strip ofi of the can and coiling same around the key.

It is also proposed to provide a key of this kind which rolls smoothly during the coiling operation and which securely holds the tab end of the tear strip and safely confines the coils so that removal of the tear strip once begun continues smoothly with a minimum effort and maximum safety for the user.

It is also an object to provide a key of this kind wherein the waste tear strip after it is torn from the can can be readily removed from the key and discarded.

The invention broadly comprises a key having a'body formed of a length of wire turned upon itself to form a loop and to form a shank portion, the loop having means for removing covers, caps and the like from bottles, cans and the like, and the shank portion having means for loosening the tab of a tear strip and having means for initially coiling the tab and for subsequently coiling the tear strip from a can and the like.

For further comprehension of the invention and of the advantages and objects thereof, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing forming a material part of this disclosure wherein- 2,919,049 Patented Dec. 29, 1959 Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a can with the key of Fig. 1 applied thereto, the key being shown in dot-dash lines inposition preparatory to loosening the tab of the tear strip'fronr the can, the key being shown in full lines interlocked with the tab after loosening of the tab from the surface of the can.

Fig. 4'is-' asimilar view looking from the left of Fig. 3 and showing the tab coiled around the key.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the tear strip interlocked with the key preparatory to tearing the tear strip off of the can.

Referringin detail to the drawing, in Fig. 1 a key made in accordance with the invention is shown and designated generally by the reference numeral it). The key 10 is formed of a length of round wire, of stout stock. The wire is turned upon itself to form a loop 12, and the reaches of the wire are twisted around each other for a portion of their length as indicated at 14, the remainder of the reaches being disposed in parallel, juxtaposed relationship providing a pair of legs 16 and 18 in closely spaced relationship. Leg 16 is slightly longer than leg 18. The twisted portion 14 and the legs 16 and it; constitute the shank of the key.

In accordance with the invention, on the inner periphery of the loop 12, a pair of spaced lugs 24, 24 are formed.

The lugs 24, 24 project inwardly and may be formed byshaping the wire material. The projecting portions of the lugs 24, 24 are substantially semi-circular in shape and each is formed with a knife edge 26. The lugs are disposed on opposite sides for a longitudinal axis passing between the legs 16 and 18.

The projecting extremity of the long leg 16 of the shank 1S beveled or tapered on opposing sides thereof as indicated at 30, forming a blunt knife edge thereat. The beveled end is formed with a slot 32 extending inwardly from the outer end edge thereof thereby providing the leg with bifurcations 34 and 36. Bifurcation 34 is thicker than bifurcation 36. The end edge of bifurcation 36 is slanted downwardly and outwardly from the outer end of the slot thereby forming a sharp knife edge 33. The thicker bifurcation 34 is also slanted downwardly and outwardly thereby forming a blunted knife edge 40. The extreme outer end of leg 18 is preferably flat as indicated at 42.

In using the key 10 for tearing off a tear strip 44 of a can 46, the knife edge 38 of the bifurcation 36 of long leg 16 is inserted between the tab 48 of the tear strip which is usually pressed tightly against the outer surface of the can and the surface of the can as shown in dotdash lines in Fig. 3 and the tab gently pressed outwardly to the radial position shown in full lines in Fig. 3. When the tab is in this position, the bifurcated end of the key is placed over the tab and the end pushed downwardly so that the slot 32 thereof straddles the tab as shown in Fig. 3, with the tab and key in interlocking relationship. The key is next turned in one direction, clockwise as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4, for two or three turns until the length of the tab is coiled around the end of the leg 16 and the tear strip starts to tear. The key is then turned in the opposite direction, that is, counterclockwise, until the tab is unwound at which time the key is released from the tab. The key is then placed over the initially torn portion of the tear strip and the key moved downwardly over said torn portion of the tear strip, said strip being received in the space 50 between the legs 16 and 18, until the strip is preferably about midway the ends of the short leg 18 to the position shown in Fig. 5. The key is then turned in a clockwise direction until the tear strip has been completely torn from the can. It is desirable that the cover 52 of the can be held by the hand of the user at about the end of the tearing operation in order to prevent spilling of the contents of the can.

I claim:

A tool for tearing a tear strip oif of a can for removal of a permanent cover thereon comprising a wire body having a looped portion at one end and a shank portion at the other end, the shank portion constituted by reaches of the wire twisted for a length thereof and disposed in parallel juxtaposed closely spaced relation for the remainder thereof, said juxtaposed reaches constituting closely spaced legs, one of said legs extending beyond the other leg, the extension on said leg having opposed beveled sides and having a slot extending inwardly from the extreme end edge thereof providing bifurcations at the end of said extension, said slot adapted to receive the tab of a tear strip of a can for coiling around the bifurcations,

the end edges of the bifurcations having opposed slanting surfaces to facilitate entrance of the tab into the slot, the space between said legs being sufficiently wide to receive the tear strip after initial tearing by the bifurcations, the end edge of one bifurcation terminating in a knife edge to facilitate entrance of said bifurcation between the tab of a tearstrip and the surface of the can for separating thetab from the can surface.

References Cited in the'file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,150,083 Walker Aug. 17, 1915 2,609,962 Schultz Sept. 9, 1952 2,624,489 Wishart Jan. 6, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 427,453 France May 29, 1911 554,062 Great Britain June 17, 1943 805,942 France Sept. 7, 1936 

